Arachnid Phobia
by Falcon Strife
Summary: -Oneshot- Sometimes parents feel their children overreact when a 'big' spider scares them. But what if it really is a big spider? Cloud learns from a childhood experience that children don't aways exagerate. AUish.


_**Arachnid Phobia  
**_  
"Mommy, where's Daddy?" four-year-old Cloud said while running into the kitchen. He got a frustrated face when she didn't answer, then repeated himself.  
"Sweety, Mommy's trying to make dinner," she said to her son. "Now go back to the living room."  
"Mo-Om!" he cried. "Where's Daddy?"  
She laughed while looking to him. "Your father is at work. Please don't..." An explosion in the mountains cut her off, then she looked worriedly out the window. "All these monsters..." She shook her head while looking down to the chicken she was stir frying. "We really should go else where. Maybe Cosmo Canyon."  
"With the big kitty?" the small boy asked with a bright smile.  
"With the big kitty," she replied with a smile. Since her family's visit to Cosmo Canyon six months ago, her son had been crazy about large cats and dogs, but he seemed to have a particular fondness for the guardian of the canyon, Nanaki.  
"Mommy? Where's Daddy?" Cloud asked for the fourth time.  
She chuckled, her mind being drawn away from the recent worries. "Daddy is at work."  
Cloud smiled. "And then Daddy will come home and we'll eat and then watch cartoons!" he said happily, showing that he remembered the family's nightly schedule.  
"Yes," she replied with a laugh. "Now go and play so Mommy can finish making dinner."  
"Okay, Mommy," he said happily, then he ran into the living room and found his toy sword. "Hah! Get back, monsters!" he cried while fighting imaginary monsters. "Leave Mommy alone or get poked!" He swiped menacingly at the air, then let out a victory cry. "Yea!" He turned and ran into the kitchen and looked up at his mother. "Mommy, the bad monsters are gone!"  
She laughed some. "Okay, Cloud. Now let me finish making your dinner."  
"But..."  
"Cloud, Sweety, I think you missed a monster under the couch," she interrupted.  
"Oh! I'll get it!" he cried as he ran into the living room again, then he skidded to a stop. Carefully he peered under the couch, then he let out a shrill scream when a large spider ran over his hand towards the bookshelf. "Mommy! Spider!" he yelled while dropping the sword and running back to the kitchen.  
"Oh, dear," she sighed, then looked at Cloud. "A spider, was it? You'd better show me."  
"Th-this way," he whimpered while leading her to the living room.  
She chuckled while following him, then let out a startled yelp when it jumped at her, then she turned and stared at it when it hit the floor. It stood at least ten inches at the moment. There was no telling how high it stood when it wasn't crouched, and large, green eyes, along with overly sized fangs told her that it wasn't a normal spider.  
"Cloud, get into the kitchen," she ordered quickly.  
"Mommy, you too," Cloud cried.  
"I'll be fine," she replied quickly, then pushed her son back and closed the door, never moving her eyes from the mutant spider, then she quickly focussed on the fire materia that rest in her Dragon Armlet. She quickly cast Fire2 as it jumped for her, then winced at the horrible screech it made when the flames hit it.  
"Mommy, are you okay?" Cloud cried through the door.  
She stared shakily as the creature fell to the floor, then after a fe wminutes she slowly opened the door and lifted Cloud up. "I'm okay, Sweety," she said gently. "Don't cry," she said while wiping the tears of fear off Cloud's face.  
"Mommy, I want Daddy," he cried while holding onto her tightly.  
"Shh," she replied while sitting him on one of the chairs. "You wait here, okay? Daddy will be home soon."  
Cloud sat quietly at the table, making frequent surveys around the room for any sign of danger. Finally the sound of a vehicle caught his attention, then he looked out the window. He smiled seeing his father's car, then he jumped off the chair and ran for the door.  
"Daddy!" he cried happily as he threw open the door, but he was met with another sight. "Huh? Who are you?"  
The oriental man looked down at Cloud. "Hello. You must be Cloud," he said calmly. "Is your mother here?"  
"Uh... Yeah," he replied with confusion. "Where's Daddy?"  
He was quiet, then looked up hearing somebody walking up. "Kika..."  
She stared at him. "What are you doing here?" she said quietly. "You're only supposed to come if..."  
He nodded silently. "There was an accident in the mountain," he said quietly.  
"Um... do you know where Daddy is?" Cloud asked quietly.  
Kika placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and filling with tears. "But... He was fine this morning..."  
"An unexpected attack called for his expertise in firearms. A junior was too slow to fire. He took the attack for her."  
Cloud stared silently, then looked back at his mother, who fell to her knees and began sobbing. All was silent for a few moments, then Cloud looked back to the man. They stared at each other for several minutes, then tears began to flow down his face. "Daddy... died?"  
"Yes," he replied quietly.  
Cloud stared at him shakily, then looked down, trying not to cry. Just then, something caught the corner of his eye. He looked up, then his eyes widened in horror finding the mutant spider on the mail table. "Mommy!" he cried just as it jumped.  
"What the Hell?!" the man yelped as it jumped on Kika and impaled it's fangs into the base of her neck.  
"No no no!" Cloud cried, things moving too quickly. The sight of the monster attacking his mother, the sound of her scream, then the sight and sound of the man drawing a handgun and shooting the creature, all mixed together and made him increasingly scared and confused, then he ran over to his mother when the spider creature was curled up. "Mommy!"  
"God damn it!" the man yelled while running over. "Kika, can you hear me?" he checked for a pulse, then began cursing repeatedly when he found none. Quickly he grabbed his cell phone and dialled for an ambulance, then when he got off he looked at the sobbing boy. "Cloud, you have to calm down," he said while placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Take deep breaths. Stay calm for Mommy."  
:He shook his head frantically. "No no no! Make Mommy not die! Make her wake up!" he cried, then began to sob hard as the man pulled him into a warm hug.  
"Come on, Cloud, calm down. You have to be strong the way Daddy was so you can help Mommy."  
"Stupid monsters!" he cried while pounding his fist on the man's chest. "Stupid, bad monsters! Bad, bad, bad!"  
The man sighed uncomfortably, not having a clue as to handle the four- year-old, and continued to hold the boy until finally the ambulance arrived, then when Kika was loaded in the ambulance and headed for the hospital, he climbed into his own vehicle, buckling Yoh in the passenger seat, and followed to the hospital.  
"It'll be okay, Cloud," he reassured frequently.  
"No," the boy finally whispered. "It won't be okay..."  
"What do you mean? Of course it will be, Cloud."  
The blue fluttered shut as he began to sob again. "The monsters killed Mommy and Daddy... It can't be alright..." He drew his knees up to his chest. "Bad monsters... Bad spiders..."  
  
_18 Years Later...  
_  
Cloud and Barret looked up hearing Marlene scream.  
"Marlene?!" Barret cried while jumping up.  
"Daddy, there's a giant spider in my room!" Marlene cried while running into the living room, only have dressed for bed.  
Barret blinked, then groaned in relief. "Marlene, don't scare me like that."  
"But Daddy, it's really big," she cried.  
Cloud frowned, then stood up. "Where is it, Marlene?"  
"On my bed," she sobbed, Cloud frowned, then looked at Barret. "Can I borrow your fire materia?"  
"The hell for?" he snapped.  
"Mine's only level two," he replied.  
"It's just a spider. What the hell do you need materia for?"  
Marlene sniffled while looking up at Barret. "Please let him have it, Daddy."  
Barret sighed, unable to displease his daughter. "Alright then," he said as he reluctantly handed it over to Cloud.  
"Thanks," the blonde said, then made his way to the bedroom and surveyed the area. When his gaze found the spider, his eyes narrowed. Definitely not normal for the area. Carefully he drew the buster sword, and slowly approached the bed. The arachnid was facing away, giving him some advantage, and quickly he used the flat edge of the blade to swipe and knock it off the bed, then backed up when it turned and stared at him.  
Cloud stared down at it, then carefully focussed on the materia. A moment later he cast Fire3, then winced at the sound of pain. Once the flames died down, he looked at it quietly, then stepped towards it cautiously. Once he was sure it was safe, he brought the blade down and sliced it in half, then looked towards the door. "Barret, I need a strong plastic bag," he called.  
After a couple minutes, the dark toned man walked in, then stared. "Shi. Yeah, it was big, Cloud, but wasn't that a little extreme?"  
Cloud took the bag, then cautiously put the spired in it, then tied it and looked up. "It's a mutation. Don't tell me how to do my job."  
"Is it gone, Uncy Cloud?" Marlene asked while peering in.  
"Yep. Nothing to worry about, Marly," he said with a smile.  
Marlene smiled weakly, then nervously made her way to the bed and retrieved her pyjama top, inspected it carefully, then pulled it on. A moment later she looked up. "Daddy? Can I leave the light on?" she asked nervously.  
"Of course, Sweety," he said with a smile.  
Cloud smiled, then walked out to the living room, then emptied the bag's contents into the lit fireplace, then disposed of the bag and sat down on the couch and sighed.  
"What the hell was that about?" Barret asked when he returned from tucking Marlene in for the night.  
Cloud stared at the fire, thinking about before he had to go and live with his adoptive parents, then closed his eyes. "Nothing, Barret," he said quietly.  
"It's not nothing. You were pale as a ghost in there, and now you're all mopy. What's wrong?"  
Cloud sighed while closing his eyes. "Somebody I used to love died because of a mutation like that," he said quietly.  
"Oh? Anybody I would know?" he asked as a half joke.  
Cloud shook his head. "No... It was a long time ago," he said as he leaned against Barret. "A real long time ago."  
Barret looked down for a moment, then decided to keep his mouth shut, knowing Cloud was remembering something unpleasant, and deciding it was probably related to ShinRa, as most of Cloud's bad memories were. After a few moments he reluctantly wrapped his good arm around Cloud's shoulders. "Eh, don't worry about it, Kid. Things'll be fine now."  
"Mm hmm," Cloud replied, then slowly fell asleep. 


End file.
